As a sequel toGhost of Tsushimabut not a direct continuation ofGhost of Tsushima’s story or characters, at least not in any explicit way,Ghost of Yoteipositions itself to be quite an intriguing second installment of Sucker Punch’s bloomingGhostIP. Set over 300 years later and thus obviously following different characters,Ghost of Yotei’s settingessentially takes place as far away fromGhost of Tsushima’s as possible, catapulting players onto the other end of Japan, and it’ll be fascinating to see if three centuries passing has diluted or prevented Jin Sakai’s tall tale from making its way into the former’s narrative.
Ghost of Yoteireleases for PlayStation 5 on June 16, 2025.
Rather, based even partially onGhost of Yotei’s deep-dive State of Playthat aired the other day, the sequel itself isn’t keeping nearly as much distance betweenGhost of Tsushima’s gameplay and its own. That’s not to sayGhost of Yoteiwas obligated to be wildly different, nor that its gameplay doesn’t boast remarkable debut features, and instead it simply suggests that there will be an agreeable throughline between games. It seems likely thatYoteiwould make any effort to exhumeTsushima’s Ghost story, for example, as some fable or Mythic Tale. Regardless, for better or worse, its gameplay will probably seem quite familiar when all is said and done.
Ghost of Yotei Seems as Similar as It is Different from Ghost of Tsushima
Sequels are relentlessly fickle beasts as they inevitably shoulder the crushing weight of expectations that their predecessors establish. Realistic or not, these expectations are upheld by players for sequels to maintain what made them successful or beloved in the first place, all while somehow extrapolating from the original as a baseline and ‘improving’ in every area imaginable.
Some players may have been perfectly content withGhost of Yotei’s gameplayif it wasn’t changing anything and simply stuck to whatGhost of Tsushimadid well, for instance, whereas others may not seeGhost of Yotei’s gameplay as a refinement or upgrade at all if it appears to be anything likeGhost of Tsushima’s. It’s this sort of balance that will make any sequel divisive, depending on who’s asked and what their opinion of the original game was.
However,Ghost of Yoteiseems as if it’s attempting to appeal to both corners by remaining similar toGhost ofTsushimain its core gameplay loop of open-world exploration while offering brand-new tools to assist in making such player choice far more elaborate and tailored to players’ preferences. These new tools are arriving in the form of distinct features, detailed in the State of Play, such as a Clue System and interrogations that point players in various directions, or having important NPCs come to the player while resting at a campsite instead of players necessarily needing to seek them out in the open world.
Tsushima and Yotei Share the Same ‘Simon Says’ Combat System
As for whereGhost of Yoteiseems to adhere closely to the bread and butter ofGhost of Tsushima, traversal and combat look nearly identical between both games aside from one manipulated variable: while Jin Sakai only had a katana to rely on (as well as a tanto in stealth and a bow for ranged attacks), Atsu has access to several unique melee weapons, though they all transparently play the same mechanical role asGhost of Tsushima’s fighting stances.Ghost of Yotei’s melee weaponsinclude:
Each weapon is intended to be better against a certain enemy type than another, ensuring thatGhost of Tsushima’s routine of swapping stancesto effectively combat an enemy with a specific weapon is alive and well.Ghost of Yoteidoesn’t demand that players swap weapons, to be fair, yet it’s made clear that doing so makes enemy-to-enemy combat more efficient. Therefore, a lot of the original game’s dominant genes are already on display in the sequel—hot spring baths are reprised, too—withGhost of Yoteiat risk of not pushing the envelope as much as it may have been expected to.
